


A Special Meeting

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-17
Updated: 2018-02-17
Packaged: 2019-03-20 07:18:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13712682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Hayley gets to meet her idol after seeing herself in a Jortube video. Hayley belongs to hayley-swiftriver on tumblr and Saga belongs to (and basically is) Seri! Pixel Biologist!





	A Special Meeting

Hayley Swiftriver closed her eyes as she leaned back against her Friesian gelding, who lay on the ground behind her. Both of them were enjoying the warm sunshine out in the Everwind Fields, getting away from the hustle and bustle of regular Jorvegian life for a little while. There was a Valentine’s event going on at the moment, but Hayley had already found all of the letters and exchanged the hearts from Lowe’s race for other Valentine’s-related items. She was still a little surprised that there wasn’t more love in the air around this time of year in Jorvik, even the local couples weren’t really doing anything special to celebrate the day. As for Hayley, she’d decided to celebrate the fortnight-long holiday on Jorvik with the horse that made her heart sing.

As Hayley relaxed, her phone in her pocket buzzed with a notification. Opening her eyes, she got her phone out of her pocket and shielded the screen from the sun so that she could read the notification. Her heart leaped when she did. Her favourite Jortuber, Saga Sparrowdawn (though she had a different name on Jortube), had just uploaded another video, and this one was about her adventures in Jorvik. Hayley got comfortable, pushing her red hair behind her ears, and plugged in her earphones so that she could watch the video.

About twenty minutes later, Hayley was smiling, as she always did after watching the videos by this particular Jortuber, but she felt a slight pang of frustration. She’d seen the flash of her own red hair in that video, and it annoyed her that she’d been so close but had been unable to speak with her. It was true, the woman didn’t like to talk to people while she was recording, but it still would have been nice if Hayley had actually noticed that she was there. Hayley sighed as she unplugged her earphones, and informed the internet via her blog that she’d appeared in the background of another Jortube video. Other people on the blogging website that she frequented often appeared in the videos of other famous Jortubers, like Nova Graydawn and Cadence Winterpie, and they always screenshotted and screamed about it in a post.

But, in the bevy of reblogs and likes that Hayley received on this particular post, she saw one message that made her heart leap. Though, she was still suspicious- had Louisa really met Saga, or was she just joking? Hayley tapped her fingers on her lips for a few moments, but then decided to just bite the bullet and ask.

“Do you really know her in person?” Hayley texted to the slightly-older woman.

“Yeah,” Louisa texted back, attaching a smiley-face emoji. Hayley twisted her lips.

“Could you introduce me to her?” Hayley texted back, her thumb hovering over the send button for a few moments before she actually sent her message. Saga was pretty famous (and shy to boot), so she probably wouldn’t want to meet a fan. It was a good half hour before Louisa texted back, during which time Hayley got to her feet and climbed back into her hrose’s saddle after bidding him to stand. She was riding him slowly back towards Silverglade Village to buy herself a birthday cake for lunch when Louisa finally texted back. Hayley fumbled for her phone, stopping her horse just outside the village. Her heart pounded, and her hand trembled so much that she nearly dropped the phone.

“Yes, just as long as you promise not to bring a huge crowd,” Louisa had texted. “Just bring yourself, she said that she’s fine with meeting fans sometimes, as long as she’s not busy.”

“Okay, cool!” Hayley texted back, resisting the urge to squeal. She knew that she must be grinning like a loon, but she couldn’t help it- this was something that most people only dreamed about, a one-on-one meeting with their idol. “Where do I meet her?”

“Where are you?” Louisa texted back. “I’ll take you to her.” Hayley nodded in understanding, knowing that it would be safer if Louisa didn’t give out her location. Much as Hayley would love to bring some other friends to meet Saga, she wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

“Silverglade Village, at Harold’s little bakery,” Hayley texted, continuing on into the village and dismounting to sit at one of the tables. She may as well eat while she was waiting for Louisa to get here, she knew that the other girl liked to ride all over Jorvik so it would take a while.

“Okay, I’ll meet you there,” Louisa texted. Still grinning, Hayley put her phone away and ordered a slice of cake from Harold. It was delicious, plain batter with cream and jam in the middle and some delicious, sugary frosting in pale blue and white. It was her birthday cake, too, Harold having cooked it for her as a birthday gift.

Louisa finally arrived on a very large horse, one that dwarfed even Hayley’s Friesian.

“Hi,” said Louisa, dismounting with a grin. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yes, thank you so much for this,” said Hayley, grinning back at her as she stood.

“No problem,” said Louisa, smiling. “I figured that it could be your birthday present, even if we don’t really know each other that well.”

“Thanks,” said Hayley as she mounted her Friesian. “But how do you know her?”

“Oh, well, it’s a long story but also not really,” said Louisa as she hauled herself up onto her Jorvik Wild’s back and nudged her into a walk. She rode alongside Hayley so that they could talk. “Remember when Jortube was being a little wonky with the ad revenue a while ago?”

“Yeah, I remember her mentioning that,” said Hayley, nodding.

“Well, she started up one of those Patreon things,” said Louisa. “And because I pledged five bucks, I got access to her private chatroom, along with all of her other patrons.” She couldn’t seem to stop smiling, and Hayley smiled with her.

“Wow, that sounds amazing,” said Hayley. “Maybe I should do that.”

“Honestly, it’s completely worth it,” said Louisa, grinning at the thought. “We hang out with her and chat, and sometimes she even takes a few of us on trail rides if we live in Jorvik. It’s the best decision I’ve ever made.”

“It certainly looks like it,” said Hayley, smiling at her. “Mind if we race there? I can’t wait to see her.”

“Sure, you’ll probably be able to outrace Mossleaf easily, but it’ll be fun anyway,” said Louisa, patting her Jorvik Wild’s neck.

“Heh, you’ll have to win anyway since you’re guiding me,” said Hayley. She nudged her horse’s sides, and the two of them took off down the trail, quickly crossing the bridge to Firgrove in no time and thundering down the Fire Trail.

“Slow down here,” Louisa called once they reached Dundull. They slowed their horses, and Louisa turned onto the rutted tracks that led through the forest. As they caught their breath, they rode on in silence, simply enjoying the peacefulness and serenity of nature.

“Of course she’d be here,” Hayley murmured.

“Yeah, once she found this place, she doesn’t want to leave it,” said Louisa with a laugh. “She told us all about it when she first got here, she was just amazed by everything.”

“Did she record it?” asked Hayley hopefully. Of course she probably had, Saga recorded everything that she did in Jorvik.

“Of course,” said Louisa, grinning. “But none of us have seen it yet. I’m sure she’ll upload it soon, though.”

“Can’t wait to see that particular episode,” said Hayley, smiling as she tucked some hair behind her ear.

“She’s just up here I think,” said Louisa, riding up a small trail and onto one of the many platform-like structures that dotted the Mistfall forest. It was like in Greendale, only better.

As Hayley was looking around, admiring the beauty of this place all over again, she spotted something that blended in with the trees just ahead. She gasped.

“There she is,” said Hayley, almost breathless. “It’s really her, in the flesh.” Louisa looked, and smiled when she spotted the woman sitting with a bunny in her lap and a bird on her shoulder while a silver bay Morgan behind her grazed.

“Yep, that’s her, all right,” said Louisa, dismounting her horse and proceeding on foot so as to not frighten the animals with her massive horse. “Hi, Saga.” She waved, and Saga looked up, still petting the bunny. Her hair really was longer in real life.

“Hi, Burgie,” said Saga, raising her hand in a wave. She turned, smiling, to Hayley. “And you must be the friend that she told me about.”

“Yeah,” said Hayley, finding herself suddenly tongue-tied. She didn’t want to make a fool of herself in front of Saga, and yet at the same time, she couldn’t find anything to say. “Hi.”

“Aww, it’s okay to be shy,” said Saga, letting the rabbit go so that it scampered back over to the horse. Rosestone gave the rabbit a sniff, and Hayley realised that it was Thistledown as soon as the rabbit climbed back into the saddlebag that sat on the ground. The bird remained on Saga’s shoulder, though.

“Is this really real?” asked Hayley, grinning as she looked at Saga and then back at Rosestone. She pinched herself, and Saga laughed.

“Yep, it’s real,” said Saga, grinning. “And it’s always lovely to meet a fan.”

“Wow,” said Hayley, grinning, her eyes wide. “This is incredible!”

“It’s like we’ve stumbled upon a Saga in her natural environment,” said Louisa. Saga laughed again.

“You’re so right,” said Saga. “And I’m always up for meeting a fan, as long as I’m not too busy.”

“Oh, is that why you never noticed me in your videos?” asked Hayley. “I saw myself in one today.”

“Yeah, I just don’t like to be distracted or crowded while I’m recording,” said Saga. “It’s just, phew.” She put a hand on her chest, widening her eyes.

“I can imagine,” said Hayley, laughing slightly. She felt like she had to pinch herself again. Was this really happening? Was she really here, talking to one of her idols?

“I’ve thought about maybe doing some livestreams and meeting up with some fans that way, but I have to work up to that,” said Saga, smiling. “You wouldn’t expect me to be shy, would you?”

“It is a bit surprising,” said Hayley, nodding. “You make so many videos, and you’ve got so many fans.”

“Well, I’m not as shy as I was,” said Saga. “But I’m also not as confident as Cadence or Nova.”

“I envy their confidence,” said Louisa. 

“Gosh, so do I,” said Saga with a laugh. “But we’re all different, and that’s fine.”

“Thank you so much for agreeing to meet with me,” said Hayley, her heart racing. “This means so much to me.”

“Aww, I’m glad,” said Saga, smiling at her. “And happy birthday!”

“Ahh, thank you,” said Hayley, blushing.

“See that feeling you’re feeling right now? I feel it every day in Saga’s private chatroom,” said Louisa, smiling. “It’s the best feeling, and it’s usually accompanied by the feeling of pride for knowing that my money is helping her to help her family back home.” Saga’s eyes glittered with tears of happiness as she hugged her fan. And then, while she was overflowing with gratitude, she pulled Hayley in to a hug, too.

“Gosh, people like you make this all worth it,” said Saga, drying her eyes and fanning her face. “Knowing that you guys have got my back means the world to me.”

“Well, you mean the world to some of us,” said Hayley.

“Stop, you’re going to make me cry,” said Saga with a laugh, wiping her eyes again. “But it’s okay, I’m just a bit overly emotional sometimes.”

“Sorry,” said Hayley, but she smiled to see Saga smiling. These were happy tears, the best kind. If she wasn’t so busy trying to keep herself composed, she’d probably break down, too.

“Now, do you want to take a picture with me or something?” asked Saga, once she’d calmed down from the intense feelings of love and happiness and stood up.

“I would love that,” said Hayley with a gasp.

“Well, come on,” said Saga, laughing and beckoning Hayley towards her with her hand. Hayley’s heart pounded, but she walked closer to Saga, getting her phone out.

“I’ll take the picture if you want,” said Louisa. 

“That would be great, thanks,” said Hayley, grinning, and handed the phone to her new friend. She was the only one not overcome with nerves, it seemed.

“Rosestone, get in here,” Saga called to her horse, and the mare walked over, Thistledown emerging from his saddlebag to sit at Saga’s feet. Saga put her arm around Hayley, and Hayley couldn’t seem to stop grinning. Louisa concentrated, getting all four of them in the frame (it helped that Thistledown stood up on his hind legs), and snapped the photo. Hayley’s grin was brighter than the phone’s flash, and Louisa grinned herself at the knowledge that she’d caused this.

“Here you go,” said Louisa, handing the phone back to Hayley. Hayley took it, grinning, and trembled slightly as she looked at the photo.

“Wow,” said Hayley, quickly making the picture her phone background. “And don’t worry, I won’t post your location just yet.”

“Thank you,” said Saga, smiling gently. “You can stay and chat if you want, we can have a vegan picnic with things that I made at home.”

“Okay,” said Hayley, unable to believe her good luck.

“Would you like to join us, Burgie?” asked Saga.

“Sure, if you don’t mind, Hayley,” said Louisa.

“Not at all, join us for a birthday lunch,” said Hayley, grinning. “After all, I have you to thank for this.” Louisa smiled as she sat down with them, and Saga opened up her picnic basket.

As the three of them tucked into vegan delights (including some delicious chocolate brownies and more cupcakes), Hayley couldn’t believe her good luck. After being ignored by her favourite Jortuber, she was finally getting to meet her. And not only that, but she was also enjoying a delicious birthday lunch with her. Nothing could top this.


End file.
